The Blackwood mansion was filled with sadness. The staff moved about quietly, their eyes red, their steps careful, as if the walls themselves would shatter if they made too much noise.

Jason walked in with Jessica and Mandy beside him, all of them looking tired and weak. The hall that used to be full of Grandma Linda’s laughter now felt cold and empty. The portraits on the walls seemed to mock them with memories of better days.

It was there, in the middle of that silence, that the ...